Empowering People Through Eco-Museum: A Case for the Métis of Western Canada and Meenas of Rajasthan

Abstract

This essay is meant for a research—project under Indo-Canadian collaboration in higher education. This research is a comparative study of a cross section of Western India tribal population the Meenas of Rajasthan with the Métis of Western Canada. We highlight tribal traditions and folklore related to tribal identity movement (the folktales of the Meenas of Jaipur recorded by Col. James Tod in his Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (William Crooke (1971)) clearly indicate contestation by the Meena elite (there are two types of the Meenas of Rajasthan: the Zamindari Meenas and the landlords and the Chaukidari Meenas, serve of these have been categorized as highway robbers and thieves) in recent historical times and their socioeconomic and political upliftment in contemporary times. This essay draws from the methodology and data from the disciplines of social anthropology, history, development studies, and public administration. We draw largely from ethnographic reports, folklores, and archival documents reports of government projects on tribal development environment and sustainable employment. Although the Meenas are listed under scheduled tribe in the Indian Constitution, the Métis have not been categorized either as tribe or as “First Nations.” The Métis unlike other indigenous people (see http://www.first-nations.info/first-nations-a-z/Métis Métis identity is frequently misinterpreted by non-Métis to refer simply to Aboriginal–European ancestry Métis stems from the Latin verb miscue, “to mix.” The initially referred to the children of these relationships but over generations, it came to refer to the distinct cultural identities these communities developed. “Métis” is a term with a history at least as complex and contentions as “Indian.” In the most general sense, the term “Métis” has been used since the eighteenth century to refer to people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry, and particularly to those people with family posts deriving from intermarriages arising from the fur trade, primarily the French fur traders and local women. This general definition glosses mixed ancestry whose family roots lie in specific and distinct communities with specific cultural and linguistic traditions. Also, see the list of First Nations people in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_First_Nations_Peoples. The list of First Nations people is organized according to linguistic–cultural area. This list does not include Métis or Canadian invite groups. The areas used here as in accordance with those developed by the ethnologist and linguist Edward Sapir and used by the Canadian Museum of Civilization (Canadian museum of civilization: Gateway to Aboriginal Heritage) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_First_Nations_peoples hence it is a partial list) did not sign any land treaty with the British Crown (Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, provides constitution protection to the Aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal people in Canada). Hence, the author is not using the term “tribe” or tribal in the title of this essay. However, we refer to the Meenas as a tribal category as per their status in the Indian Constitution. We have opted for the term “people” in the title. We are also not referring to the Meenas and Métis as “marginalized” as both the social groups have been socioeconomically stratified over a long period of time.